Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS)

What is the QLTS?

Following approval by the Legal Services Board (LSB) the QLTS was introduced on 1 September 2010.

The QLTS is a transfer scheme which provides qualified lawyers, who are not admitted as solicitors in England and Wales, with an alternative route to qualification as a solicitor of England and Wales to the domestic route. BPP Professional Education provides a preparatory course to best prepare you to sit the national QLTS assessment. This is not a BPP University College Programme.

Download the QLTS brochure.

Who is the QLTS assessment provider?

The SRA has appointed Kaplan QLTS as the sole QLTS Assessment provider. Please visit Kaplan’s website for detailed information about the QLTS Assessments and their requirements.

The QLTS Assessments

The QLTS Assessments are designed to test applicants on most of the SRA’s Day One Outcomes. The Day One Outcomes are the outcomes each solicitor who qualifies through the domestic route is expected to have achieved by the time they are admitted as a solicitor of England and Wales. The Day One Outcomes can be downloaded from the SRA’s website, or you can view a summary.

The QLTS Assessments are in three parts:

Part 1 Multiple Choice Test (MCT)

Part 1 is a multiple choice test that will test Day One Outcome A. Part 1 must be passed before Parts 2 and 3 are attempted. The MCT covers 180 questions across outcomes A1 to A11, over 6 hours.

Part 2 Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)

Part 2 is an objective structured clinical examination that will test interviewing and advocacy skills in the context of the following areas of practice: business, civil and criminal litigation, and property and probate. The OSCE takes place over 3 consecutive days.

Part 3 Technical Legal Skills Test (TLST)

Part 3 is a technical legal skills test that will test the skills of legal research, drafting and writing, in the context of the following areas of practice: business, civil and criminal litigation, and property and probate. Parts 2 and 3 can be taken in any order. The TLST also takes place over 3 consecutive days.

Does the QLTS replace the QLTT?

The QLTS replaced the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test (QLTT), which is in a transitional phase-out period, coming to an end in August 2013. The QLTT is only available to applicants who applied for a Certificate of Eligibility from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) on or before 31 August 2010. Applications for Certificates of Eligibility received by the SRA after 31 August 2010 are dealt with under the QLTS Regulations 2011 (QLTS Regulations). The SRA has, however, introduced a QLTS assessment option for QLTT candidates who have an outstanding work experience requirement under their QLTT Certificates of Eligibility: they can complete the QLTS OSCE and TLST Assessments as an alternative to satisfying the QLTT work experience requirement. Further details of these rules can be found at SRA's website.

Is there an experience requirement under the QLTS Regulations?

No. There is no experience requirement under the QLTS Regulations. The QLTS, instead, uses practical exercises in the OSCE and TLST as an objective way of assessing applicants' ability to practise in England and Wales.

Who is eligible to sit the QLTS?

The QLTS is available to lawyers qualified:

• Elsewhere in the UK (e.g. barristers in England and Wales, Scottish Solicitors/Advocates, Northern Irish Solicitors/Advocates)
• Within the EU/EEA
• In a recognised international jurisdiction

 

Before you can sit the QLTS Assessments you must have applied for, and been issued with, a Certificate of Eligibility from the SRA.

To establish whether you are eligible to apply to sit the QLTS Assessments, other requirements and any exemptions which may apply, please visit the SRA’s website.

How long do I have to sit the QLTS Assessments?

Your Certificate of Eligibility is valid for five years and the rules allow three attempts at each of the three QLTS Assessments during this time. If you fail any part of the QLTS Assessments three times, you will need to wait until the expiry of your existing Certificate of Eligibility before applying for a new one.

Dates and prices

View important term dates for your diary.

Programme	Price
MCT Classroom Programme	£2200 + VAT
MCT Distance Learning Programme	£2200 + VAT
OSCE & TLST Classroom Programme	£2000 + VAT
OSCE & TLST Classroom-Distance Learning Hybrid Programme	£2000 + VAT
Design your own Study Programme	The prices of the individual Modules are shown in the Design Your Own Programme Study Menu.

Concessionary pricing

Bundle discounts

If you design your own Study Programme and wish to purchase more than one Module, we offer ‘bundle’ discounts.

Loyalty discounts

If you book the MCT Programme with us (either in the classroom or online), we will give you a 5% discount on the price of the OSCE & TLST Programmes.

Online Extension

All Distance Learning delegates and candidates who have booked a full Classroom Programme will receive access to online courses. Your online access will be available for 12 months. However, should you need to re-sit the QLTS Assessment(s) it will be extended at no extra cost if you provide us with evidence that you need to re-sit. Should you decide to defer your QLTS Assessment(s) with Kaplan QLTS then you may extend your online access on payment of a fee of £20 + VAT per Module and proof that you have booked your QLTS Assessment(s) with Kaplan QLTS.

BPP’s QLTS Study Programme 

BPP Professional Education offers a full programme of face-to-face classroom courses and workshops and distance learning options. We understand that many of our delegates are busy professionals and so our QLTS courses have been scheduled to take place at weekends, enabling you to fit your studies around your work, (although the Skills workshops may be scheduled over consecutive days, rather than weekends, for the convenience of our overseas delegates). This is not a BPP University College programme.

We offer the following full QLTS Study Programmes (click on any individual Programme for more details):

• MCT Classroom Programme
• MCT Distance Learning Programme
• OSCE and TLST Classroom Programme
• OSCE and TLST Classroom-Distance Learning Hybrid Programme

 

Some QLTS applicants may have secured exemptions from part(s) of the QLTS Assessment(s) and so we also offer you the option to:

• Design Your Own Study Programme

 

To design your own Study Programme, you may choose from the numerous different Modules we offer to create a wholly bespoke study package that suits your needs. The prices of the individual Modules are shown in the Design Your Own Programme Study Menu please add link here to info in Annex 8. Should you wish to purchase more than one Module, you can take advantage of ‘bundle’ discounts.

What is the aim of the QLTS Study Programme?

The QLTS Study Programme is designed to give you an introduction to, and comprehensive overview of, the knowledge and skills covered by the assessable Day One Outcomes. It is one of the tools you may choose to use in your preparation for the Kaplan QLTS assessments. Our courses and workshops focus on the key concepts and principles. However, Kaplan QLTS do not release information about the assessments, or past papers, and BPP are not involved in any way with the setting, moderation or marking of the QLTS assessments. For this reason, we are not able to guarantee that we will cover on our courses everything that Kaplan QLTS assess in the QLTS assessments. Although the QLTS assessment framework is a shorter route to qualification than the domestic route, the syllabus (the SRA’s Day One Outcomes) is broad and challenging and we therefore allow delegates who book one of our full Programmes access to BPP Law School’s libraries for a period of 12 months so that they can study the subject areas in more detail if they wish to do so and our QLTS Tutors will make suggestions with regard to further reading.

BPP’s QLTS Tutor Team

The QLTS Assessments are designed to test applicants on most of the Day One Outcomes, these being the outcomes each solicitor who qualifies through the domestic route is expected to have achieved by the time they qualify as a solicitor. The domestic route to qualification comprises the academic stage (undergraduate law degree (LLB) or Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)), and the vocational stage (Legal Practice Course (LPC), Training Contract and Professional Skills Course (PSC)). At BPP we have experienced and professionally qualified LLB, GDL, LPC and PSC lecturers and tutors who will be teaching you on our QLTS Study Programme.

Who is eligible to sit the QLTS Assessments?

The QLTS is available to lawyers qualified: 

• Elsewhere in the UK (e.g. barristers in England and Wales, Scottish Solicitors/Advocates, Northern Irish Solicitors/Advocates)
• Within the EU/EEA
• In a recognised international jurisdiction 

Before you can sit the QLTS Assessments you must have applied for, and been issued with, a Certificate of Eligibility from the SRA.

To establish whether you are eligible to apply to sit the QLTS Assessments, other requirements and any exemptions which may apply, please visit the SRA’s website.

Route to Success

Apply to SRA for a Certificate of Eligibility

The application forms are available from SRA’s website.

There is a fee payable to the SRA with your application for a Certificate of Eligibility. Please contact the SRA for current rates. 

The SRA will inform you if you have been granted exemptions from any part(s) of the QLTS Assessment(s).

Register for the QLTS Assessments with Kaplan QLTS

Please visit Kaplan’s website for more information about how to register for the QLTS Assessments. 

Fees apply for sitting the QLTS Assessments – please contact Kaplan QLTS for details. 

Preparing for the QLTS Assessments

You are not required to complete any training prior to attempting the QLTS Assessments. The SRA state that you should “assess your experience, knowledge and skills against the Day One Outcomes and decide how best to prepare for the assessments.”

The QLTS assessment provider, Kaplan QLTS, is not permitted to offer preparatory training for the QLTS Assessments.

Read further details of BPP’s QLTS Study Programme.

Apply to be admitted as a Solicitor of England and Wales

Once you have passed all three QLTS Assessments (subject to any exemptions which may apply to you) you may apply to the SRA to be admitted to the Roll of Solicitors of England and Wales.

Locations

Our QLTS courses and workshops take place at BPP venues in the centre of London. Our QLTS Client Services Team will notify you of the venue before you attend the course.

The QLTS is not a BPP University College programme but students on the BPP Professional Education QLTS may use the BPP Law School libraries in:

• Birmingham
• Bristol
• Cambridge
• Leeds
• Liverpool
• London Waterloo
• London Holborn
• Manchester